MacRumors

Microsoft today announced that it is adding iPhone support to its Phone Link app on Windows 11. The app allows iPhone users to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view an iPhone's notifications directly on a PC.

Notably, the app brings limited iMessage functionality to Windows. After pairing an iPhone with a PC via Bluetooth and granting some permissions on the iPhone, users can send and receive iMessages and SMS text messages in Phone Link, but there is no support for group chats or sending photos and videos.

As noted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Phone Link also lacks full message history for conversations and displays all sent and received messages as gray bubbles, meaning iMessages and SMS text messages cannot be differentiated.

Microsoft says iPhone support in Phone Link will be available in preview starting this week for a "small percentage" of Windows Insider members enrolled in the Dev, Beta, or Release Preview channels. The preview will be expanded "over time."

Amazon today has a rare deal on Apple's third-generation AirPods, on sale for $149.99, down from $169.00. This is the model that comes with a Lightning Charging Case, and right now we're only tracking this discount at Amazon.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Sales on the AirPods 3 have been very scarce over the last few months, with the last notable discount popping up around Black Friday. Amazon's deal today is about $10 higher than the all-time low price on this model, making it a solid second-best price.

If you're okay with purchasing an older generation model, Amazon also has the AirPods 2 for $99.00, down from $129.00. We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

Update: This deal has expired.

Apple Watch's Track Detection feature launched in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom last week, according to the fitness blog DC Rainmaker. The feature is available on all Apple Watch models running watchOS 9.2 and later.

With Track Detection, the Apple Watch uses an Apple Maps database and GPS to automatically detect when you step on to an outdoor running track. In the Workout app, you can select which lane of the track you are running in and receive more accurate distance measurements and a more precise route map. There is also an option to receive lap alerts that show distance, time, and pace as you complete each lap.

Track Detection first became available in the United States last year. watchOS 9.2 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer.

GravaStar is known for its range of quirky speakers with video game-esque designs, but the company is branching into power adapters and today announced the launch of the Alpha65 GaN charger.

Rather than looking like your standard power brick, the Alpha65 was modeled after robots from classic science fiction movies, and it has a distinctly robotic look. We were able to test out the charger ahead of its launch, and it's a fun desktop charging accessory for those who like a little whimsy.

The charger is about the size of a standard GaN 65W charger, but it has a power plug on the bottom, two movable, collapsible legs, and removable antennae. There are two eyes that light up when it's plugged in, and the prongs fold down so when it's not in use for charging purposes, it looks like a desktop decoration. When plugged in, the eyes are red, so they have a double purpose as a charging indicator.

A clever design keeps the legs at the bottom, so even though there are appendages, the charger fits well in a plug socket and does not take up extra room. Both sockets of a standard wall outlet remain usable.

There are two USB-C ports and a USB-A port. The main USB-C port offers 65W charging, while the second port offers 20W and the USB-A port offers 18W. Note that 65W is the maximum, so for the full power for a Mac, you'll need to only have one device plugged in. 65W is low for Apple's higher-end 16-inch MacBook Pro, but it can still charge, and it is ideal for the 14-inch model along with the MacBook Air, iPads, iPhones, and more.

In testing, all of the ports worked well and delivered the specified power, and the enclosure did not get too overly hot despite the added design elements. All in all, the Alpha65 is a great grab and go desktop accessory that works as decor when not in use, but serves as a functional charger when you need one as you're heading out the door or at home.

GravaStar's Alpha65 is priced at $60, and it can be purchased from the GravaStar website. GravaStar is also debuting a new Supernova Bluetooth speaker and light source, which is available today for $180.

Reddit's official app now provides users with the ability to search for comments within a specific post directly from the search bar.

After updating to version 2023.08.0 of the iOS app, when viewing a post, users can now search within the comments of that post, rather than all of Reddit. The developers describe it like so:

We've been listening to your feedback and you can now search comments within a post on desktop, iOS, and Android apps. So what does this mean? You don't have to "cmd-f" on the post page anymore and you can search comment threads without expanding them. No more long scrolling sessions — quickly get to the parts of the conversation you're looking for and jump in where you want.

Reddit says the feature is now available on desktop, iOS, and Android. The tool builds upon the ability to get search results from replies to original posts, which Reddit introduced in April last year.

In addition, Reddit says it has improved its subreddit search algorithm so that it now delivers a larger number of and more relevant subreddits for most searches. Improvements have also been made to the autocomplete function, which should make it easier to search for communities without having to type in the exact name to find relevant results, according to the developers.

Apple is still on track to switch to under-display Face ID technology next year that will provide more usable display area on iPhone 16 Pro models, claims a new report out of Korea.

Apple is set to transition to under-screen ‌Face ID‌ on ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models in 2024, followed by under-screen ‌Face ID‌ and an under-screen front camera on iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026, according to respected display industry consultant Ross Young.

In line with this roadmap, according to a new report from The Elec, Apple should not have any major difficulties securing the technology necessary for external light to be able to penetrate the display and enter the TrueDepth camera system that makes ‌Face ID‌ possible, given the current state of smartphone production processes.

From the display point of view, Underpanel Face ID has the same principle as the underpanel camera (UPC) that Samsung Display is applying to Samsung Electronics' foldable phone Galaxy Z Fold series. UPC also mounts a front camera module under the display, so the camera lens hole is not visible when the camera function is not in use. Currently, camera module specifications have been compromised at the level of 4 million pixels to implement UPC. This is because the UPC space must be divided so that some support the display screen function, and the other supports the camera function by accepting external light. Recently, the front camera specifications of premium smartphones far exceed 10 million pixels.

"If the current trend continues," the report adds, "Apple can apply Underpanel ‌Face ID‌ to the [non-Pro] ‌iPhone‌ series lineup in 2025, and apply UPC to the [Pro] ‌iPhone‌ series lineup in 2026."

This isn't the first time Korean-language website's predictions have lined up with a roadmap set out by Young in May 2022. Young outlined a cycle where Apple will alternate between the Pro and the non-Pro models each year when introducing revised display cutouts or new under-display technology.

The Pro models will be first to feature new display innovations, as first seen last year with the Dynamic Island exclusive to the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ and ‌‌iPhone 14‌ Pro‌ Max, while the ‌iPhone 14‌ and ‌‌iPhone 14‌‌ Plus were left with the same "notch" as the ‌iPhone‌ 13. This year, the ‌Dynamic Island‌ is expected to come to all iPhone 15 models.

Based on this cycle, each configuration of display cutouts and under-screen technology will persist for a maximum of two generations on each ‌‌iPhone‌,‌ before all models in Apple's future ‌iPhone‌ lineups have a true unconstrained fullscreen display, which is expected to happen in 2027.

Apple is expected to expand the Dynamic Island to all four iPhone 15 models released this year, but the integrated feature is making it difficult for one of Apple's Chinese suppliers to produce the devices en masse, claims a new report.

According to Korean-language website The Elec, China's BOE is having problems with light leakage around the portion of the OLED display where the pill and hole cutouts secure the space necessary for the TrueDepth camera and Face ID.

The issues are said to be limited to a low-end 6.1-inch iPhone 15 model that BOE has been involved in manufacturing. The report implies that Samsung and LG Display – set to mass produce the "Pro" 6.1-inch model and the two larger "Plus" and "Pro Max" 6.7-inch models – have not experienced similar problems.

Apple apparently requested that its iPhone 15 OLED suppliers use something called Edge Light Blocking (ELB), a device to prevent light leakage around the camera lens, among other advanced process technologies. However, for whatever reason, this solution has not been successful for BOE. Indeed, BOE "seems to have failed to meet the stringent standards required by Apple," reads the machine-translated report.

As a result of the light leakage issue, the report claims it will be difficult for BOE to participate in the mass production of OLED panels for the first shipment of the iPhone 15 series scheduled for around June.

Instead, the report predicts that OLED panels produced by BOE will be initially used for repairs and refurbs, rather than for new products. Whether LG or Samsung take up the OLED orders that BOE will miss out on will likely be dictated by production capacity.

Dynamic Island is a pill-shaped area surrounding the Face ID sensors and front camera on the iPhone 14 Pro models. The feature can display system alerts for things like incoming phone calls and the Face ID authentication prompt, and it also works with Live Activities in third-party apps.

The feature is currently exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, but is expected to be available on the standard non-Pro iPhone 15 models this year as well, according to oft-accurate display industry analyst Ross Young.

Apple's iPhone 15 series will officially only support USB-C accessories that have been certified by Apple's own Made for iPhone (MFi) program, potentially limiting the functionality of accessories not approved by Apple, an established leaker has now claimed.

Since being introduced in 2012, first-party and MFi-certified Lightning ports and connectors have contained a small integrated circuit that confirms the authenticity of the parts involved in the connection. Non-MFi-certified third-party charging cables, for example, do not feature this chip, often leading to "This accessory is not supported" warnings on connected Apple devices.

Apple is widely expected to switch out the Lightning port for USB-C on iPhone 15 models, and earlier this month, a rumor out of China suggested that the replacement USB-C port would continue to have a Lightning-like authentication chip, despite USB-C ports on Apple's iPads having no such chip.

In a tweet posted on Tuesday, ShrimpApplePro appeared to corroborate the rumor by claiming that "USB-C with MFi is happening," and that Foxconn is already mass producing accessories like EarPods and cables that conform to the Apple certification.

The authenticator chip is there to encourage customers to buy genuine iPhone peripherals, while Apple receives a commission on MFi-certified accessories and the MFi program makes it easier to expose counterfeit and potentially dangerous accessories.

Despite these advantages, the concern from a user perspective is that Apple could use the MFi program to limit features like fast charging and high-speed data transfer to Apple and MFi-certified cables. And that is precisely what AppleShrimpPro believes we should expect. "Cables with no MFi will be software limited in data and charging speed," said the leaker in a follow-up tweet.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the USB-C port on the ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus will remain limited to Lightning/USB 2.0 speeds, while faster transfer speeds will be exclusive to the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max models. ShrimpApplePro's tweets add a new complexion to Kuo's prediction.

ShrimpApplePro accurately leaked the hardware design of the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models, giving them an established track record for rumors. Earlier this month, the leaker said the iPhone 15 Pro will feature even thinner bezels around the display. ShrimpApplePro also previously claimed that at least one iPhone 15 model will feature a titanium frame and curved rear edges, which could mirror the curved bezels.

Future versions of the AR/VR headset that Apple has in development could help people with eye diseases, according to information shared over the weekend by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his latest issue of the PowerOn newsletter. According to Gurman, Apple has a special XDG team exploring next-generation display technology, AI, and options for future AR/VR headsets that will assist people with visual issues.

While there is no detail available on just what Apple has in development for a future AR/VR headset, accessibility has always been an area of import for the company. Apple aims to make its devices usable by everyone, and the iPhone, iPad, and Mac have a range of accessibility settings that provide extra assistance with various visual, hearing, and motor issues.

Rumors suggest that the first version of the AR/VR headset will have more than a dozen cameras, several of which will be used for mapping the area around the user. This functionality could allow the headset to project extra visual information to those who are legally blind or have other visual problems, and it could potentially provide audio directions to those with no sight.

There could be targeted functions for people with diseases like AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration), which causes blind spots in the vision. Oculenz AR Wear glasses, for example, have been described as being able to use floating lenses to modify real-time streaming video to move objects into an area that people suffering from AMD can see.

Apple's first AR/VR headset is set to come out this year, and while we haven't heard news of specific accessibility settings, it stands to reason that even the first model will have some accommodations based on Apple's deep interest in accessibility on its other devices.

For more on what to expect from the AR/VR headset that Apple has coming this year, we have a dedicated AR/VR roundup that aggregates all of the rumors that we've heard so far.

Apple's vice president of health Sumbul Desai today spoke with Indian publication Businessline, where she talked about Apple's health initiatives and gave a tiny bit of insight into Apple's thoughts on glucose monitoring for the Apple Watch.

When asked if Apple would bring blood sugar tracking sensors to the Apple Watch, Desai said that these capabilities are "really important areas, but they require a lot of science behind them."

Her comments come just a few days after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple has hit a milestone in its noninvasive blood glucose monitoring technology. Apple has been working on this functionality for at least a decade, and now has a "proof-of-concept" model that is viable.

Noninvasive blood glucose monitoring uses a laser to shine a light under the skin to determine the concentration of glucose in the body. Now that Apple has a functioning prototype, it needs to work to slim down the hardware to make it fit in a device the size of the Apple Watch. Gurman believes that Apple is still years away from being able to bring noninvasive blood glucose monitoring to the Apple Watch, but progress is being made.

Desai also said that she believes we are at the "beginning" of health tech, which will require changing the behavior of physicians and people. She said that Apple is focused on "the customer as the individual" and how the company can "empower an individual to be holistic about their health" by providing actionable insights.

Apple's health team is "laser-focused" on continuing to build in the health space, investing in research, collaboration with the medical community, and other avenues that will help it "understand your health sooner and earlier." Apple wants people to "feel like they’re empowered and educated to drive their own health care."

Other topics of conversation included Apple's view on health privacy, the cost of Apple devices, how decisions are made on what to work on, and more, with the full interview available at Businessline.

Apple has restarted development of a fourth-generation iPhone SE with a 6.1-inch OLED display and an Apple-designed 5G chip, according to the latest information shared by reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. This reversal comes nearly two months after Kuo said Apple had abandoned its plans to release a new iPhone SE in 2024.

In a series of tweets today, Kuo said the new iPhone SE will be similar to the standard iPhone 14, which features a 6.1-inch OLED display with thinner bezels. The current iPhone SE is equipped with a 4.7-inch LCD display with thicker bezels.

The new iPhone SE will be equipped with Apple's custom-designed 5G modem, with connectivity limited to sub-6GHz bands of 5G, the analyst said. The current iPhone SE already supports 5G, but uses Qualcomm's custom Snapdragon X57 chip.

Kuo did not indicate when the new iPhone SE would be released, but it likely won't be available until March 2024 or later based on when previous models of the device launched. The current iPhone SE was released in March 2022, for example, with pricing starting at $429 in the U.S. The device is Apple's last iPhone with a Home button and Touch ID, but Face ID is likely for the new model if it is based on the iPhone 14.

Update: The new iPhone SE's display will be supplied by Chinese manufacturer BOE, according to reputable display industry analyst Ross Young.

Apple discontinued the Newton personal digital assistant (PDA) 25 years ago today via press release, marking the start of the company's renewed focus on the Mac.

The Newton came with a stylus, ran Newton OS, and was the first PDA to offer handwriting recognition. The device could be used to take notes, store contacts, manage calendars, send faxes, and more. In some ways, it was a precursor to other handheld Apple products like the iPhone and iPad, with its second-generation model even being the first major device from the company designed by Sir Jony Ive.

• Apple's Biggest Hardware Flops of All Time

Apple started developing the Newton in 1987 and shipped the first devices in August 1993, spending $100 million on its development. Production officially came to an end on February 27, 1998. Steve Jobs decided to discontinue the Newton less than a year after he returned to the company in 1997. The original press release announcing the device's discontinuation reads:

Apple Computer, Inc. today announced it will discontinue further development of the Newton operating system and Newton OS-based products, including the MessagePad 2100 and eMate 300.

"This decision is consistent with our strategy to focus all of our software development resources on extending the Macintosh operating system," said Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO. "To realize our ambitious plans we must focus all of our efforts in one direction."

Apple is committed to affordable mobile computing, pioneered by the eMate, and will be serving this market with Mac OS-based products beginning in 1999.

Apple will continue to market and sell its current inventory of MessagePad 2100 and eMate 300 computers, as well as to provide support for their installed base of users. The Company is committed to working with its customers and developers to ensure a smooth transition to Mac OS-based products.

Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original mission - to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.

The Newton had problems translating handwritten notes into text upon launch, leading to a wave of negative reviews and ridicule by the media. While the release of Newton OS 2.0 in March 1996 substantially improved the handwriting recognition feature, the Newton continued to be overshadowed by its initial poor reception, leading to the inevitable discontinuation of the device. Only an estimated 200,000 were ever sold.

Apple's secretive Exploratory Design Group is working on a range of next-generation technologies, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

In his most recent newsletter, Gurman revealed new information about Apple's Exploratory Design Group, known as "XDG" inside the company. The team is apparently highly secretive, even by Apple's notoriously high standards. People working on one project within the group are not permitted to communicate about their work with other members of XDG that are tasked with a different project. Individuals are also organized by skill set rather than specific projects, meaning that XDG members often work on several different projects simultaneously.

The Exploratory Design Group operates as a startup within Apple and is made up of only a few hundred people, mostly engineers and academic types. That's a far cry from the many hundreds of people in the Special Projects Group, which is focused on Apple's self-driving car, or the more than a thousand engineers in Apple's Technology Development Group, the team building the mixed-reality headset.

XDG also receives significant financial resources and members are encouraged to work on projects until they can determine whether or not an idea is viable, rather than "churn out" new features for devices like the iPhone.

Last week, Gurman revealed that XDG was behind Apple's recent breakthrough with non-invasive blood glucose monitoring technology. The group is said to be actively working on next-generation display technology, artificial intelligence, low-processor technologies, next-generation batteries for smartphones, and health features for headset devices to help people with eye diseases. Chip and battery technologies developed by XDG have purportedly already shipped in ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and Mac models for several years.

Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro (10-Core M2 Pro, 512GB) has hit a new record low price on B&H Photo, priced at $1,799.00, down from $1,999.00. This sale should remain around through February 28 at 11:59 p.m. EST, and right now only B&H Photo has the discount.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

At $200 off, this is now the best price we've ever tracked on the 2023 14-inch MacBook Pro. This notebook is just over a month old, so this is a fantastic deal on the brand-new model, particularly compared to other retailers' deals which only reach about $50 off the computer.

Apple updated the MacBook Pro line in January 2023 with the new 14-inch and 16-inch models. This included next-generation M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, increased maximum memory, longer battery life, HDMI 2.1 with 8K display support, faster Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 support.

You can find the best monthly deals on all new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks in our new "Best Deals" guide. Be sure to visit the guide and bookmark it if you're on the hunt for a new Apple notebook; we'll be updating it weekly as we discover new MacBook offers across the web.

Update: Amazon is now matching this deal.

Speaking at the MWC 2023 conference today, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Apple's rumored 5G chip could be ready next year.

"We expect that Apple will do their own modem in 2024, but if they need ours they know where to find us," said Amon, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern. His comment was shared by tech analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Qualcomm is currently the exclusive supplier of 5G modems for Apple devices, including the entire iPhone 14 lineup, but Apple has long been rumored to be designing its own 5G chip as an in-house replacement. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last month reported that Apple initially plans to use the chip in just one new product, such as a high-end iPhone model, and would fully phase out Qualcomm's modems about three years later.

Based on the 2024 timeframe that Amon provided, it's possible that Apple's 5G chip could debut in at least one iPhone 16 model. It's also possible that Apple could introduce the 5G chip in a lower-volume product first, such as an iPad. It's unclear how Apple's chip would perform compared to Qualcomm's modems, but the switch to an in-house design would likely reduce Apple's production costs over time.

In the meantime, all iPhone 15 models are expected to be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X70 modem, which has further cellular speed and power efficiency improvements compared to the Snapdragon X65 found in all iPhone 14 models. Qualcomm also recently announced its latest Snapdragon X75 modem, which could still be used in some of Apple's future devices amid the gradual transition to its own 5G chip.

Update: In a tweet today, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said it is still undetermined if iPhone 16 models will be equipped with Apple's 5G chip. Kuo said the decision will depend on whether Apple can overcome technical challenges related to mmWave and satellite connectivity.

Today on Amazon you can get the 41mm GPS (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum version of Apple Watch Series 8 for $329.00, down from $399.00. As of writing, only the (PRODUCT)RED color is on sale at this all-time low price for the 41mm GPS models. In addition to this model, we're tracking numerous best-ever prices across the Apple Watch Series 8 product range on Amazon.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Both the S/M and M/L band sizes are on sale at this price, and Amazon estimates free delivery as soon as March 1 - 4 for most residences in the United States. The Apple Watch Series 8 has all of the same features as the previous generation wearable, with the addition of a temperature sensor and car crash detection functionality.

Additionally, the 45mm GPS Apple Watch Series 8 has hit $359.00, down from $429.00 on Amazon. This is another match of an all-time low price on the device, and Amazon only has the sale in (PRODUCT)RED.

If you're shopping for a cellular model, you can get the 41mm cellular Apple Watch Series 8 for $429.00, down from $499.00. It's available in the Silver Aluminum color, which is a record low price for this model on Amazon.

Amazon also has the 45mm cellular Apple Watch Series 8 for $459.00, down from $529.00. This one is available in three colors, with delivery estimates as soon as March 1 for select models

The Apple Watch Series 8 features an Always-On display that lets users see their watch face and complications at all times, as well as crack-resistant front glass, IP6X dust resistance, and a WR50 water resistance rating. Heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen detection, ECG readings, sleep tracking, fall detection, and loud noise monitoring are also available, plus a built-in temperature sensor that's used for giving women additional insights into their health.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Apple's upcoming OLED iPad Pro models are likely to be significantly more expensive than existing OLED devices of a similar size due to the costly new production processes involved, claims a new report out of Korea.

Apple is next year widely expected to launch new 11.1-inch and 13-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ models featuring OLED instead of LCD displays, and its panel procurement will account for the largest proportion of material costs, according to Korean-language website The Elec.

Apple is currently believed to be in discussion with Samsung and LG Display about the price of supplying the panels, the specifications for which will require the use of production processes that have not been combined before for OLED panels of the required size.

One of the new production processes is the use of a two-stack tandem structure, which has two emission layers, thus doubling brightness and quadrupling OLED display lifespan. All of Apple's iPhones use a single-stack structure, and Apple's rationale for requiring two-stack panels for iPads is that tablets tend to be used for longer periods.

Another process is the use of low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin film transistors (TFT), for a more power efficient backplane that is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off, and lastly, a hybrid OLED structure that combines rigid OLED glass substrates with flexible OLED thin-film encapsulation, resulting in an overall thinner panel.

According to The Elec, the supply price of OLED panels for existing 10-inch devices is around $100 to $150, whereas the outlay for the processes involved in making Apple's required 11.1-inch and 13-inch panels is closer to $270 and $350, respectively.

As the report notes, Apple will likely pass on at least some of these material costs to the consumer, which will be reflected in significantly higher retail prices. Currently, the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ with LED Liquid Retina display starts at $799, while the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ with mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display starts at $1,099.

Today's report adds that LG Display is developing both 11.1-inch and 13-inch iPad OLED panels, whereas Samsung is developing only for the 11.1-inch model, although Samsung may end up developing both types depending on production requirements.

In related developments, Samsung has reportedly decided to invest in eighth-generation OLED production lines, which should "theoretically" result in lower-costing panels compared to those made on the sixth-generation line. The OLED ‌iPad Pro‌ panels coming out next year are to be made using the sixth-generation line, but the panels for Apple's future OLED MacBooks are likely to be made by the eighth-generation line.

Apple's first mixed-reality headset may feature "in-air" typing capabilities and can be used independently without an accompanying iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple's headset is unlikely to require a paired ‌iPhone‌, in contrast to the original Apple Watch. The device can purportedly be set up without an accompanying ‌iPhone‌ and download a user's content independently, including iCloud data. A data transfer from a user's ‌iPhone‌ upon setup will be an option rather than a requirement.

"In-air typing," Apple's method for text input using eye movements and hand gestures with the device, is apparently enabled on the latest internal prototypes. The feature is "finicky," Gurman warned, explaining that "you still may want to pair an ‌iPhone‌ to use its touch-screen keyboard... The hope within Apple is to make rapid improvements after the device is released."

Apple is still planning to unveil the first version of the headset, likely called "Reality Pro," at WWDC in June this year, with the device shipping toward the end of 2023 at the earliest. The company is also developing multiple other headset models for further in the future. There is a cheaper model with a lower-end display and processor components planned for launch at the end of 2024 or in 2025, likely under the "Reality One" name, as well as a second-generation Reality Pro headset.

The second-generation Reality Pro headset is apparently focused on performance improvements. While the first-generation model will contain the M2 chip alongside a secondary chip for AR and VR processing, it is apparently not powerful enough to output graphics at the level Apple wants. For example, FaceTime will only support realistic VR representations of just two people at a time, rather than everyone in a conference call, with the first-generation headset. The second-generation Reality Pro could have a variant of the M3 or M4 chip to bolster its graphics capabilities, Gurman said.